the Week of Proper 24 / Ordinary 29
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Romans 12:7
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Whoever has the gift of serving should serve. Whoever has the gift of teaching should teach.
if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching;
Let him that hath an office wayte on his office. Let him that teacheth take hede to his doctrine.
or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;
If your gift is serving, devote yourself to serving others.If serving, in serving">[fn] If it is teaching, devote yourself to teaching others.If teaching, in teaching">[fn]Acts 13:1; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 5:17;">[xr]
if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching;
Anyone who has the gift of serving should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach.
or service, [let us give ourselves] to service; or he that teaches, to his teaching;
Or ministry, [let us wait] on [our] ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching:
if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministring; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation.
if it is the gift of administration, let the administrator exercise a sound judgement in his duties.
ethir prophecie, aftir the resoun of feith; ethir seruise, in mynystryng; ether he that techith, in techyng;
or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching;
if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach.
or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching;
Or the position of a Deacon of the church, let a man give himself to it; or he who has the power of teaching, let him make use of it;
if it is serving, use it to serve; if you are a teacher, use your gift in teaching;
or service, [let us occupy ourselves] in service; or he that teaches, in teaching;
Hath (another the gift) of ministry? (let him be employed) in his ministry; he who is a teacher, (let him labour) in his teaching;
And there is that of ministration, possessed by one in his ministry. And there is that of a teacher, in his teaching.
Or ministery, let vs wait, on our ministring: or hee that teacheth, on teaching:
If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.
If someone has the gift of helping others, then he should help. If someone has the gift of teaching, he should teach.
ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;
Or an office, let vs waite on the office: or he that teacheth, on teaching:
Some have the gift of ministration, in his ministry; and some of teaching, in his teaching.
Or ministering, use it in our ministering, or he that teacheth, let him use his gift in his teaching,
Or ministry, in ministering; or he that teacheth, in doctrine;
Either office in administration, or he that teacheth in teachyng:
if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach;
if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching;
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
if it is service, by service; if it is one who teaches, by teaching;
or ministry, in the ministry; or the one teaching, in the teaching;
or ministration -- `In the ministration!' or he who is teaching -- `In the teaching!'
Let him that hath an office, wayte vpo the office: let him that teacheth, take hede to the doctryne:
if it be the ministry, let him attend on that ministry; and he that teacheth, on teaching; he that exhorteth,
Place Your Life Before God So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach;
or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
If your gift is helping others, ride for them just like you do for Him. If you're a clinician, teach it God's way.
if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
or service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
ministry: Isaiah 21:8, Ezekiel 3:17-21, Ezekiel 33:7-9, Matthew 24:45-47, Luke 12:42-44, Acts 20:20, Acts 20:28, Colossians 4:17, 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Peter 5:1-4
or he: Deuteronomy 33:10, 1 Samuel 12:23, Psalms 34:11, Psalms 51:13, Ecclesiastes 12:9, Matthew 28:19, John 3:2, Acts 13:1, Galatians 6:6, Ephesians 4:11, Colossians 1:28, Colossians 1:29, 1 Timothy 2:7, 1 Timothy 3:2, 1 Timothy 5:17, 2 Timothy 2:2, 2 Timothy 2:24
Reciprocal: Numbers 3:10 - they shall Deuteronomy 10:8 - to stand 1 Chronicles 9:27 - the charge Nehemiah 12:44 - Judah rejoiced Ephesians 4:12 - the work 1 Timothy 3:13 - used
Cross-References
And Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every [ceremonially] clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Then he moved on from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].
Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev (the South country of Judah).
so when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me [to acquire you], but they will let you live.
where he had first built an altar; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD [in prayer].
for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.
Then Abram broke camp and moved his tent, and came and settled by the [grove of the great] terebinths (oak trees) of Mamre [the Amorite], which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to [honor] the LORD.
On the same day the LORD made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me].
Then Abram fell on his face [in worship], and God spoke with him, saying,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Or ministry, [let us wait] on our ministry,.... The word
διακονια sometimes signifies the whole ecclesiastical ministry, even the office of apostleship, as well as the ordinary ministration of the Gospel; see Acts 1:17; but here "deaconship", or the office of ministering to the poor saints, as in Acts 6:1, being a distinct office from prophesying: or preaching the word, and should be used, exercised, and attended to with diligence, care, and constancy; for such who are appointed to this office, are chosen not only to a place of honour, but of service and business, in which they should behave with prudence, sobriety, and humility:
or he that teacheth, on teaching. The gift of prophesying or preaching is subdivided into "teaching" and "exhorting"; the one belongs to "teachers" or doctors, the other to "pastors"; as the distinction is in Ephesians 4:11, not that different officers and offices are intended, but different branches of the same office; and one man's talent may lie more in the one, and another man's in the other; and accordingly each should in his preaching attend to the gift which is most peculiar to him: if his gift lies in teaching, let him constantly employ himself in that with all sobriety and "teaching" does not design an office in the school, but in the church; it is not teaching divinity as men teach logic, rhetoric, and other arts and sciences, in the schools; but an instructing of churches and the members thereof in the doctrines of the Gospel, in order to establish and build them up in their most holy faith; see
1 Corinthians 12:28; it chiefly lies in a doctrinal way of preaching, in opening, explaining, and defending the doctrines of Christ, as distinct from the practical part of the ministry of the word, and the administration of ordinances, in which the pastor is employed as well as in this.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Or ministry - διακονιÌαν diakonian. This word properly means service of any kind; Luke 10:40. It is used in religion to denote the service which is rendered to Christ as the Master. It is applied to all classes of ministers in the New Testament, as denoting their being the servants of Christ; and it is used particularly to denote that class who from this word were called deacons, that is, those who had the care of the poor, who provided for the sick, and who watched over the external matters of the church. In the following places it is used to denote the ministry, or service, which Paul and the other apostles rendered in their public work; Acts 1:17, Acts 1:25; Acts 6:4; Acts 12:25; Acts 20:24; Acts 21:19; Romans 11:13; Romans 15:31; 2Co 5:18; 2 Corinthians 6:3; Eph 4:12; 1 Timothy 1:12. In a few places this word is used to denote the function which the deacons fulfilled; Acts 6:1; Acts 11:29; 1 Corinthians 16:15; 2 Corinthians 11:8. In this sense the word âdeaconâ διαÌÎºÎ¿Î½Î¿Ï diakonos is most commonly used, as denoting the function which was performed in providing for the poor and administering the alms of the church. It is not easy to say in what sense it is used here. I am inclined to the opinion that he did not refer to those who were appropriately called deacons, but to those engaged in the function of the ministry of the word; whose business it was to preach, and thus to serve the churches. In this sense the word is often used in the New Testament, and the connection seems to demand the same interpretation here.
On our ministering - Let us be wholly and diligently occupied in this. Let this be our great business, and let us give entire attention to it. Particularly the connection requires us to understand this as directing those who ministered not to aspire to the office and honors of those who prophesied. Let them not think of themselves more highly than they ought, but be engaged entirely in their own appropriate work.
He that teacheth - This word denotes those who instruct, or communicate knowledge. It is clear that it is used to denote a class of persons different, in some respects, from those who prophesied and from those who exhorted. But in what this difference consisted, is not clear. Teachers are mentioned in the New Testament in the grade next to the prophets; Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28-29; Ephesians 4:11. Perhaps the difference between the prophets, the ministers, the teachers, and the exhorters was this, that the first spake by inspiration; the second engaged in all the functions of the ministry properly so called, including the administration of the sacraments; the teachers were employed in communicating instruction simply, teaching the doctrines of religion, but without assuming the function of ministers; and the fourth exhorted, or entreated Christians to lead a holy life, without making it a particular subject to teach, and without pretending to administer the ordinances of religion.
The fact that teachers are so often mentioned in the New Testament, shows that they were a class by themselves. It may be worthy of remark that the churches in New England had, at first, a class of people who were called teachers. One was appointed to this office in every church, distinct from the pastor, whose proper business it was to instruct the congregation in the doctrines of religion. The same thing exists substantially now in most churches, in the appointment of Sunday school teachers, whose main business it is to instruct the children in the doctrines of the Christian religion. It is an office of great importance to the church; and the exhortation of the apostle may be applied to them: that they should be assiduous, constant, diligent their teaching; that they should confine themselves to their appropriate place; and should feel that their office is of great importance in the church of God; and remember that this is his arrangement, designed to promote the edification of his people.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Romans 12:7. Or ministry — διακονια simply means the office of a deacon; and what this office was, see in Clarke's note on "Acts 6:4", where the subject is largely discussed.
Or he that teacheth — The teacher, διδαÏκαλοÏ, was a person whose office it was to instruct others, who thereby catechizing, or simply explaining the grand truths of Christianity.
